Seoul Music (Feb 7)

• Today, we visited Seoul. It was a really cool city and I'm excited to go back again, but when it's not soooo cold.
• When we got there, we attended the TaLK Opening Ceremony on the main campus of Korea University. Best thing first, we got to see Dr. Koh! It was fun to see someone from the home and to get hugs :) After that, there were some cool videos made by the NIIED (explaining the use of and need for English in Korea) and a few people gave nice introductory speeches. But the entertainment was the best part. First, there we heard a group called the "Rainbow Choir", that is made up of children from several different countries.

They were really adorable :)

Plus, there were 2 girls who did Korean Sign Language! (I mean, I know that people who are deaf are just as diverse as everyone else, but it's crazy to think that those who are non-American also need a separate language!)

(Sorry it's sideways.)

Then, there was a performance from a group who played and performed a traditional harvest dance.

Lastly, we watched a group called the "K Tigers", which is made up of about 30 kids, and is a mix of Taekwondo and hip hop dance. It was amazing! See the video to fully understand :)

 

• After the ceremony, we were driven to Gyeongbuk Palace in Seoul, to begin our scavenger hunt around the city. The hunt was a good idea in general, but would have been way better if A) there were more explicit directions on which way to turn out of the palace in order to be on the right track (we turned the wrong way and spent about 45 minutes trolling up and down the same stretch of road - if we hadn't had Adam, who speaks fluent Korean, it would have been even worse) and B) it wasn't freezing. Nonetheless, we did get some great street vendor food along the way (I had an egg baked into cornbread and a chicken kabob) and were able to see a little of Seoul. I really can't wait to go back.